Sassy Living with Caryn

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Ultimate Fall Pumpkin Cream Puff

There is one recipe that used to give me fits. I wanted to make cream puffs for my Dad one Father’s Day. I read the recipe, bought the ingredients and yet the results were terrible. What I didn’t know was that there are some simple rules to making an incredible restaurant quality puff.

The ingredients are not complicated. I recommend using Braum’s unsalted butter. The reason is simple. It is an European butter. That means more fat content and a more tender puff. Less dry and lends itself to being more bakery like than homemade. Sounds silly but that little bit of extra fat does a lot for anything you bake!

Another crucial trick is to use a wooden spoon and to do all of the mixing by hand. No mixers. A spoon keeps the dough together where an electric mixer breaks the dough. That one mistake made my puffs less poofy and flat. That makes for a sad puff.

Bake the puffs in the center of the oven. DO NOT PEEK! No exceptions!

If you follow these tips you will have an amazing cream puff experience! If my 12 year old can make them then you can make them!

 

Caramel Pumpkin Pecan Cream Puffs

Cream Puff:
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup Braum’s unsalted butter
2 teaspoon sugar
pinch of salt
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3 eggs
Pumpkin Mousse:
1 pint Braum’s heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoon powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla paste
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
Pecan Caramel Sauce:
1 cup Braum’s caramel sauce
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
To make cream puffs:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a saucepan add water, butter, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until the mixture comes to a low boil. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the flour all at once. Continue stirring to combine until a ball of dough forms. Remove from the heat and allow the dough ball to cool for 10 minutes. Add each egg one at a time stirring constantly till each one is mixed in completely. Warning: you must do this all by hand. No mixers. 
 
Place 8 heaping tablespoons of the cream puff batter on a baking sheet. Cook for 30-35 minutes in the middle of your oven. DO NOT PEEK! Remove from the oven and allow the puffs to cool completely.
To make the Pumpkin Mousse:
In a large chilled bowl beat the whipping cream, powdered sugar, vanilla paste and pumpkin pie spice till stiff peaks are formed. Fold in the pumpkin puree. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator to chill for 2 hours.
To make pecan caramel:
In a small saucepan warm the caramel and pecans together till it can be easily drizzled.
To assemble cream puffs:
Simply cut the cream puffs in half. Add a large dollop of the pumpkin mouse on the bottom half of the cream puff. Place the top of the puff on top of the mousse and drizzle with pecan caramel. Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve!